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Voting Equipment

Before any voting system may be used in the State of Wisconsin, it must be approved by the Wisconsin Elections Commission. The Commission has promulgated Administrative Rule, Chapter 7 governing the process.

Voting Equipment may be accredited by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) prior to its approval by the Wisconsin Elections Commission, but EAC certification is not required for certification in Wisconsin. Wisconsin Act 261 of 2015 eliminated the requirement that all voting systems approved for use in Wisconsin be accredited by the EAC and the WEC is able to approve systems outside of the EAC certification process.

At its September 26, 2017 meeting, the Wisconsin Elections Commission approved a timeline for the decertification of the Optech Eagle optical scan ballot tabulator. The Commission also set conditions for continued use that must be met if a municipality uses the Optech Eagle in an election before the decertification deadline. The Optech Eagle will no longer be certified for use in Wisconsin elections after December 31, 2018, and cannot be used in any election after that date. All municipalities who continue to use the Optech Eagle are required to remake all absentee ballots returned by mail or hand count those ballots. Effective immediately, the Optech Eagle should not be used to tabulate ballots during any recount scenario.